It was March of 1971 when a band from Jacksonville, Florida by way of Macon, Georgia, played for the first time in New York City at the historic Fillmore East. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, the recording of that session was one of the top 50 fifty albums in history.

The composition of the group was as innovative as their music. There were two stellar lead guitarists, a pair of drummers, the bassist, and a long-haired blond on Hammond organ, wailing the blues. These guys invented electrified Southern rock, a genre that has since been passed on to groups from Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Black Crowes to the Kings of Leon and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Just three months after the release of At Fillmore East, guitar virtuoso Duane Allman died in a motorcycle crash at age 25. (He had also contributed to Derek and the Dominos Layla. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him as the second greatest guitarist of all time, behind only Jimi Hendrix.) A year later, and just a few blocks away, the bassist Berry Oakley was also killed in a motorcycle crash at age 24. Yet even 41 years later, despite the tragedies, the Allman Brothers Band, now featuring Gregg Allman, both original drummers and two extraordinary guitarists (Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks), is still rambling on. They’re currently performing at the Beacon Theatre in their annual New York City residency.

They may not be as popular as they were in the 70’s when they shared the stage with The Grateful Dead and The Band in front of 600,000 fans in Watkins Glen, New York. But there aren’t too many other bands from that era that have endured as they have, and whose songs have remained as vibrant, lasting and highly regarded. What made their music distinctive was not only the dual brilliance of Duane’s and Dicky Bett’s guitar work, or Gregg’s deep, soulful vocals, or the driving, percussive beat provided by double drummers; it was their collective genius for improvisation that incorporated elements of R & B, jazz and rock and roll over the blues.

You can go ahead and enjoy your Midnight Rider or listen to the Pop 40 Ramblin’ Man for the 1,000th time, if you must. However, to fully appreciate the sweet sound of electric southern rock at its highest level, from the band who originated it, you might check out some of the following Allman Brothers classics. And let me know what you think in the comments section below.

[Note: These are YOU TUBE videos of varying quality, silly misspellings, etc.]

STATESBORO BLUES – The opening song on Fillmore East. Here

WHIPPING POST – The quintessential Allman Brothers tune. (“She took all my money, wrecks my new car; now she’s with one of my good time buddies, they’re drinking in some cross town bar.”) Here

REVIVAL – “People can you feel it – love is in the air.” Here

YOU DON’T LOVE ME On the David Letterman show. Here

ONE WAY OUT – From the Eat A Peach album. Here

SOUTHBOUND – From the Brothers & Sisters studio version Here or LIVE Here

NOT MY CROSS TO BEAR – From their debut album, my personal favorite. Here

IN MEMORY OF ELIZABETH REED – THE classic live performance, 1970. Here

MELISSA The mellow side. Here

JESSICA Jazzy instrumental. Here

STORMY MONDAY Pure blues, by T-Bone Walker, from Fillmore Here

AIN’T WASTIN TIME NO MORE Here

“Oh, I ain’t wastin’ time no more, ‘Cause time goes by like hurricanes, and faster things.”